Sweet Memories
by Heera Malhotra
Summary: Rose and Scorpius are nearing the end of their fifth year and remembering their past run-ins. Read and review, please!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: For the sake of the story, let's pretend that Hogwarts students receive their O.W.L. results before the end of the year feast instead of the middle of the summer, so they're still at Hogwarts at the time. Read and review, please!**

**Disclaimer: Characters, spells, certain lines of dialogue, etc. all belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but my own crazy mind.**

"I did it, I did it, I did it!"

Scorpius Malfoy looked up just as Rose Weasley barreled into him and looped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight in a bear hug. He barely had time to hug her back before she pulled away a bit, enough so he could see the grin lighting up her face as she waved a bit of parchment around.

"Look!" she cried, thrusting the parchment into his hands. "I got an 'exceeds expectations' in potions!"

"And 'outstanding' in everything else," he observed, eyebrows raised as he pored over her O.W.L. results. "Congratulations." He grinned as he handed the parchment back to her.

"How'd you do?" she asked, still breathless from her wild dash from the Gryffindor common room to the corridor where she'd finally found him.

"Exceeds expectations in everything, except for an 'acceptable' in Herbology–"

"Surprised you didn't get a 'troll', considering your complete lack of a green thumb," Rose said, a mischievous yet good-natured twinkle in her eye.

"And I also got an 'outstanding' in potions," Scorpius finished, laughing.

"Of course you did, oh Wise Master of Potions." She jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck again, balancing on the tips of her toes. "Thank you _so_ much, Scorpius! I never would've been able to keep up with potions if you weren't such a great tutor!" She pulled back, and the grin quickly slipped off her face.

He was staring down at her with a look in his blue-gray eyes she'd never seen before, and her breath hitched in her throat as she realized how close they stood together, how one of his hands was still gently pressed against the middle of her back from when she'd first jumped into his arms for a hug.

"Rose," Scorpius said, his voice sounding hoarse. "Do you remember when we first saw each other?"

Not trusting herself to speak, sure that she'd give herself away if she tried, she nodded. Gosh, his eyes were so beautiful, they were the first thing she'd noticed about him…

_Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Mom, and Dad had all been staring at Draco Malfoy, a former classmate and – Rose was too young to know the details, they said – Uncle Harry's rival. But Rose didn't care about the tall, intimidating-looking man or his wife; it was the boy with them that caught her eye, a miniature version of his father. _

_ "So that's little Scorpius," Dad had muttered. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."_

_ Scorpius. Such an unusual name, so…harsh-sounding for the boy in front of her. _

_ As if sensing that she had thought his name, the boy looked at her. Their eyes locked, and Rose took a small step back in surprise. She'd been expecting to see disgust, contempt, arrogance in his gaze, but there wasn't a trace of malice to be found there as he stared at her, just curiosity. Pure, innocent curiosity. _

_ "Don't get _too _friendly with him, though, Rosie." Ron's words penetrated the haze surrounding her brain, and Rose dragged her gaze away from Scorpius's to look at him as he added, "Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."_

_ It might have been a joke, but Rose heeded her father's words. At least, she tried to. _

_ "Malfoy, Scorpius," Professor McGonagall called._

_ Rose stopped clutching her growling stomach long enough to watch Scorpius walk up to the front of the Hall, put the Sorting Hat on – it slipped down so the brim hit just above the point of his nose – and sit down on the stool._

_ "Well, well, a Malfoy, eh?" the hat murmured in Scorpius's ears. "Let's see…definitely daring, intelligent, loyal…"_

_ Scorpius stiffened. Truth be told, he didn't want to be in any house but Slytherin, but he also didn't want to be like his grandfather, didn't want to make the same mistakes his father made. He didn't want to be the typical Slytherin._

_ "Very interesting," the hat said. "Very interesting, indeed. Very well. SLYTHERIN!"_

_ Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief, took the hat off, and walked over to the Slytherin table. Most people were staring at him as he walked past, but the only one he noticed was the girl he'd seen back at Platform 9 ¾ . Just like then, her golden brown eyes were wide as she watched him. She was a Weasley – had to be, with that red hair and milky complexion – but he didn't know what her first name was. He would have to find out. He felt his lips curling into a smile at the thought._

_ Could an empty stomach cause hallucinations? Rose wondered. She'd been watching Scorpius – yes, okay, she admitted it! But so was everyone else! – and Scorpius, on his way to the Slytherin table, saw her and stared at her too. He even – unless she was hallucinating this part – smiled at her. At _her.

_ "Weasley, Rose," McGonagall called._

_ Rose blinked. When had McGonagall gone through all the names after… Never mind. Shaking off her surprise, Rose held her head high as she sat on the stool and put the Sorting Hat on. It had barely touched her head when it yelled out, "GRYFFINDOR!"_


	2. Chapter 2

"And do you remember the first time we talked?" Rose said, still smiling as the memories slipped away, back to the recesses of her mind.

"Of course," Scorpius replied. Chuckling, he added. "You were such a nerd, always reading twenty books at a time."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Like you were much better."

"That was an exception."

_Rose walked among the shelves of the library, picking out different books and adding them to the already precariously-balanced stack in her arms. Her first year was quickly drawing to a close and exams were just around the corner. She wasn't too worried about passing Charms or Transfiguration, but Potions was a whole other story, and she definitely needed to study more for History of Magic too. _

_ Finally satisfied with the pile in her arms when the books were closer to the ceiling than her head, Rose turned from the shelves and started to walk toward the tables, where she'd meet up with Albus and James. But she'd barely taken two steps when she smashed into someone else, sending books flying everywhere as she tumbled to the floor._

_ "Sorry, I'm so sorry," she began apologizing profusely, getting to her knees and reaching for her books. There were at least three dozen on the floor, more than she'd picked up. Whoever she'd bumped into must have had a stack almost as tall as hers. She grabbed one of the books and held it out. "Here's your…" Her voice trailed off as she realized who kneeled in front of her._

_ Scorpius had been watching her, waiting for her to look up. As expected, her cheeks flushed a deep pink when she noticed him. "Sorry," he apologized, taking the book from her and gathering the rest of his books together. "I didn't see you. Books got in the way."_

_ Rose blinked. "Uh, yeah. Here." She handed him another book, Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties. "Guess you really like plants."_

_ "Thanks," he said, taking the book from her, careful not to let their fingers touch. She was watching him the same way she eyed a particularly difficult potion recipe, and he didn't want to scare her off. "And no, not really. I just stink at Herbology and Professor Longbottom recommended some books that might help. I'm Scorpius, by the way."_

_She laughed, and the knot in his stomach instantly loosened. "I know who you are, we're in Potions together!" Granted, they were on opposite sides of the room, but still. _

_ He smiled, and Rose's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah, but we've never been really introduced."_

_ "Oh." He had a point. "I'm Rose. Rose Weasley."_

_ "Nice to finally meet you, Rose." Still smiling, he picked up his last book and stood up. "Well, see you later."_

_ "See you," Rose said, getting up. _

_ "Are you okay, Rose?" Albus asked when she finally got to the table with all her books._

_ "Of course, why?"_

_ "You look like someone's put a Cheering Charm on you," James said, barely looking up from his doodling. _

_ "Just…thinking about how happy we'll be when exams are over," Rose said, ducking her head quickly and pretending to be absorbed in her reading. If she smiled that much when she and Scorpius barely talked, how would she react if they actually had a decent conversation? _

_ The thought made her blush so hard, she kept her face hidden in her book till it was time to leave the library._


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I've tried to do justice to Rowling and her amazing world and characters, but of course, I'm flawed, so please forgive me for any flaws in this story and if there's anything you think I should work on, please let me know!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, etc. J.K. Rowling does!**_

"And then there was that little mishap that happened during our second year," Scorpius said, bringing them both out of the reverie.

Rose couldn't hold in her giggle. "You still remember it?"

"It's kind of hard to forget when you're just minding your own business and a girl falls on you," he replied, a smile tugging up the corners of his mouth.

ooo

Scorpius knew he wasn't supposed to be outside after dark. He knew, but he couldn't help himself. It was getting to him again. The sneers of his fellow Slytherins, the thinly veiled jibes at his father and grandfather, the not-so-subtly dropped hints that he couldn't avoid turning out just like them no matter how he tried, how he was foolish for even thinking it was a possibility. Most days, he brushed it off, but sometimes, like tonight, it all crawled out from the corners of his mind and attacked him till he couldn't take it anymore.

How could he be noble and a Slytherin at the same time? Was it possible for a Slytherin to be clever without being sly? Could he be ambitious without sacrificing his morals?

It was at times like this that there was only one place that would bring Scorpius peace again: the graves of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. Dumbledore had made mistakes in his youth, but he had more than redeemed himself and become the most powerful wizard of his time, the only one capable of striking fear into Voldemort's heart. Snape had made mistakes as well, but he had used his past mistakes to protect Harry Potter and help bring Voldemort to his knees. Snape had been a Slytherin. He had not been perfect, but he had been loyal till the very end, braver than most.

It had rained earlier; the wet grass rustled under Scorpius's sneakered feet as he walked briskly across it toward his destination. He was almost there when he froze, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. The rustling under his sneakers stopped, allowing another sound to come to his ears. It sounded awfully like…screaming.

Scorpius looked up just in time to see a white face rushing down toward him, long hair trailing wildly behind in the air. He reached for his wand, but his head hit the ground before he could even think of a spell to cast.

He groaned in pain, his body pinned to the ground under the weight of whoever had just fallen on him, as wavy, jasmine-scented hair brushed against the side of his face. "Please get off of me," he grunted, the back of his head throbbing in time with his pulse.

The girl – it must have been a girl, no self-respecting boy over the age of four would willingly walk around with his hair smelling like flowers – groaned in response and rolled over onto the grass beside him.

After taking a few moments to catch his breath, Scorpius lifted his wand and whispered, "_Lumos_."

The girl lay on the ground with her eyes closed as she breathed in and out slowly, her face pale as shiny red hair pooled about her shoulders. A wavy tendril of it closed the space between them, brushing Scorpius's shoulder like a caress.

Scorpius did nothing but stare at her in the wandlight, his tongue paralyzed by surprise.

A moment later, those golden brown eyes snapped open, and Rose Weasley shot up into a sitting position. "You!" she cried, her face flushing. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Acting as your safety mat, apparently," he said dryly, sitting up as well and rubbing the bump on the back of his head. "What are you doing?"

"None of your business," Rose retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

But Scorpius had already spotted the broomstick laying in the grass a couple of feet away from them. "You were flying? Now? Was that necessary?"

"Again, none of your business." She uncrossed her arms to point her wand at the broomstick. "_Accio _broom! I knew coming here tonight was a mistake. I'm better off getting laughed at."

"Laughed at for what?" he demanded, watching her get up and storm off toward the castle. "Hey, wait!" He jumped to his feet and bounded after her. "Laughed at for what? By whom?"

"Still none of your business." He'd caught up to her by now, but she was still pointedly trying to ignore him.

"But why were you flying in the dark? Why–"

"Because I can't balance, alright!" she burst out, wheeling around to glare at him. "I'm the daughter of the brightest witch of her time and my Uncle George, Aunt Ginny, and Uncle Harry were amazing Quidditch players. Even my dad was pretty good, once he got over his nerves. But not me, no, I can't even get up ten feet off the ground without sliding right off my broom. That's why everyone laughs at me and that's why I was out here in the dark trying to fly. Are you happy now?"

Scorpius had stopped walking and was staring after her, momentarily dumbstruck. "No, Rose. I'm not."

Though he'd spoken softly, she stopped as suddenly as if he'd yelled her name. She turned around slowly.

"So what if your relatives were great Quidditch players?" he continued softly. "You're not them; you're you. So you're not a natural when it comes to flying, what's the big deal? You're still smarter than everyone else in our year. You still have plenty of time to learn how to fly, but it takes a lot longer for people to learn not to be stupid. If anyone laughs at you, let them. They won't laugh long, not when you show them who you are and what you're capable of."

Rose studied him for a few moments. Then, quietly, she said, "Why are you out here right now?"

Scorpius lowered his gaze to the grass. "Because I get laughed at too. When I got Sorted, I _asked_ the Hat to Sort me into Slytherin. I wanted to be in Slytherin, just like my dad and granddad, but I didn't want to make the same mistakes they did. I wanted to be loyal, clever, a leader, but I also wanted to be _good_. My housemates laugh and say that I'm too idealistic for my own good, that one way or another I'll slip up because it's in my blood."

He lifted his gaze to find her staring at him, her eyes wet. "But I can't give up," he continued. "Because that would be letting them win, letting the Dark win. So when I can't handle their laughter any more, I go to Dumbledore and Snape's graves and…" his voice trailed off as he realized how mental he'd sound if he'd kept going.

"And?" Rose prompted, taking a couple of steps closer. She didn't even realize she'd done it, but it was enough for Scorpius.

"And…I imagine I'm talking to them. I tell them my problems and they listen, but they never let me leave till they've reminded me that it's not worth it to let the Dark win, that no matter what, I have to keep trying, and someday I'll do it."

Rose smiled faintly. "Sounds like you're halfway there already, Scorpius."

His eyes locked on hers and a grin spread across his face. It was the first time she'd ever addressed him by name; the name that sounded so venomous coming from others' mouths sounded so sweet and pure coming from hers.

"Thanks for catching me, by the way," she added, returning the grin.

"I didn't really have a choice," he chuckled. "Are you okay, though? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

"Not if you don't; you absorbed most of the shock from my fall." Sighing, she jabbed a thumb toward the castle behind her. "Well, guess I'd better go back to bed. You should too, after you've gone your way, I mean."

His grin grew. "Actually, I think I'm okay."

She turned to face the castle. "Well, come on, then! Filch may be a hundred years old, but he'll still try to hang us from the ceiling by our ankles if he catches us!"

ooo

"I rarely had to go to the graves after that," Scorpius recalled. "My housemates never stopped trying to rile me up, but it stopped bothering me."

"And I eventually learned how to fly without sliding off my broom and landing on someone's head," Rose replied, grinning just as widely as she had that night.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything Harry Potter-related. I just own my Rose and Scorpius-obsessed mind.**_

"Do you remember…?" Scorpius began hopefully.

"Our first time in Hogsmeade?" Rose finished for him excitedly.

He nodded.

"Of course! Who can forget their first time in Hogsmeade?!"

"Thanks, Rose."

She laughed. "Oh, you know what I mean!"

ooo

Scorpius had been sitting by himself in a corner of The Three Broomsticks, finishing a butterbeer and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his time in Hogsmeade. He didn't want to leave, but most of his friends were either at Madam Puddifoot's, an establishment he refused to set foot in, or spending all their pocket money at Honeyduke's, which he just wasn't in the mood for. He stared down at the table as if the answer was somehow hidden in the grain.

A sudden whoosh of air signaled that the door had been opened, and Scorpius looked up just as Rose stepped into the pub. The moment one foot touched the floor the room seemed to get brighter, as if she'd brought the sun in with her.

Scorpius mentally slapped himself. _As if she'd brought the sun in with her_, really. What was wrong with him? Who thought stuff like that? If this went on, he'd have to check himself into St. Mungo's.

Rose walked over to the bar, smiled at the barman. "Two butterbeers, please." Then, one bottle in each hand, she walked over to…

Wait a minute. She was smiling at him. Walking towards _him._ He didn't even have time to properly process this information before she stopped directly in front of him.

"Hi," she said, beaming. "Mind if I join you?"

Beyond her shoulder, he could see that everyone else in the pub had gone silent and was blatantly staring at them, some open-mouthed, all of them wide-eyed. Slowly, he nodded, turning his gaze back to hers. "Not at all."

"Thanks." Still smiling, seemingly oblivious to the stares, she took the seat directly opposite him and slid one of the butterbeers over to him.

"Sure. Thanks for the butterbeer." He felt his consciousness of those staring at him slip away even as he took his first sip. His insides felt warmer than usual, a bit fuzzy, even, but maybe that was because of Rose.

"No problem." Rose studied him as she took her own first sip. She'd seen him the moment she'd stepped into the pub, made up her mind about where to sit even as she was stepping toward the bar. Why was he by himself today? It wasn't like him. Though he was neither a loner nor very popular, there were almost always a couple of his friends around. "How do you like Hogsmeade so far, Scorpius?" she asked, all too aware of the gazes of everyone in the pub boring holes in her back, especially those of her cousins.

"It's great," he replied, taking another swig from his bottle. "What about you?" She could've sat with anyone in the pub. Many of her cousins took up tables of their own and had obviously been expecting her to sit with them too, and if she'd wanted to avoid her cousins, there were plenty of other Gryffindors in the pub he knew Rose was friends with. But she'd chosen to sit with him. Why? And why had she come in alone?

"Yeah, it's interesting," Rose answered, copying his movements.

"So…how come you're here by yourself?" he asked, deciding there was no easy way to ask the question.

She laughed, put her bottle down. "I could ask you the same thing."

He chuckled. "Yeah, but I didn't come here with Daniel Finnigan, did I?" Everyone and their parents knew that Daniel had asked Rose spend the day with him in Hogsmeade weeks ago.

"Right. Well, it seems Daniel thought it'd be a good idea to spend the day at Madam Puddifoot's." She shrugged, reached for her butterbeer again. "I told him he could find me here once he came to his senses."

"Really? And he's still there?" What kind of idiot would stick around in Madam Puddifoot's when a girl like Rose was waiting for him in The Three Broomsticks?

She smirked. "Either that or he's gotten stuck in the Shrieking Shack. It's okay, I expect coming to his senses may take a while. I don't like Madam Puddifoot's but I can see the appeal. He'll get tired of Cupid throwing confetti on his head soon enough."

He half-smiled. "And in the meantime, I get the pleasure of your company. Lucky me."

She grinned. "'Lucky you' is right. So why are _you_ sitting by yourself? Need to reflect on something again?"

He shook his head. "No, just came in and didn't feel like leaving when my friends did."

"Hmm. Well, I'm glad you didn't. Who would I have shared a butterbeer with?"

"Albus Severus," he replied instantly.

"But I can do that any day. It's not every day I get to sit with the noble and mysterious Scorpius Malfoy." In her peripheral vision, she could see that most of the people in the pub had gone back to their butterbeers and their conversations, except for her cousin Albus, who was still staring at Scorpiusin wide-eyed curiosity.

Scorpius snorted. "You think I'm noble and mysterious?"

"And incredibly odd," Rose added, grinning. "Albus!"

Albus started so suddenly he almost fell off his chair.

"Get over here!"

Scorpius looked questioningly at Rose as the middle Potter got to his feet and started across the pub.

"He's been wanting to meet you for a while now," Rose explained. "But he's a bit shy, so… You don't mind if he sits with us, do you?"

He shook his head, smiling. Us. She'd said _us_. Her and Scorpius, together. "No, I don't mind."

"Good."

ooo

"Albus and I wouldn't be such good friends today if not for you," Scorpius remembered.

"I know, I'm that awesome." She sighed melodramatically. "Poor Daniel Finnigan ended up missing out on my awesomeness, however."

"Not so much as you'd think. You _did_ go to the Yule ball with him our fourth year."

"True, but I don't think we got to dance together as much as he would have liked."

_**A/N: The next chapter will start with their memories of the Yule ball. Hope you've enjoyed reading so far!**_


End file.
